When You See Your Former Self

Recently I’ve been spending a lot of time with someone who acts the way I used to when I was sick.

The intellectual side of me wants to believe that my experience makes me better equipped to handle the situation. But my life experiences just make me more frustrated not because I understand what the person is going through but because now I understand how frustrated people felt when they were dealing with me. It’s hard to separate the illness from the person. It’s hard to understand that they are not doing things to be difficult on purpose. And it’s really hard to communicate with someone who doesn’t believe anything they are told and is only scheming to get what they want.

Now I don’t really know which is harder – being sick or being the loved one of someone who is sick.